The One Month RAW Challenge

[Res]

Res, you get 16 oz. of coconut water from ONE Thai coconut??? WOW. I guess way over where you are, your coconuts are bigger than mine (I just HAD to say that...'scuse me, please...it's my middle school mentality poking through)

Hahaha...ho boy.

Well, to make sure I wasn't on crack - I opened one of those little suckers and sure enough, 15.5 oz of pure heaven. I did read somewhere that although the water is good for you you shouldn't drink it often because it's loaded with sugar. Ya know - nothing is sacred anymore.

Love,
~Res

[rain]

Yahooooo! On to raw!!! Sign me up for the one month (maybe for the rest of my life, with permission to perhaps occasionally sample something cooked?) raw challenge! I've just finished my 10-day MC (today has been my first grapefruit-and-orange day). I'm at least as excited about going 100% raw as I am about the MC (being food-deprived might have something to do with that! ).

I've been exploring raw since last August. That month, I also tried to do it 100%. But I didn't know enough about the food prep and didn't have a blender and, by the time I'd decided to order a 9-tray Excalibur dehydrator and it had arrived, I'd fallen out of raw and the dehydrator stayed in its box until last month. I did another MC last month and then had so much fun experimenting with the dehydrator (and looking up raw recipes here and other places). I've just realized that, if my OJ days after last month's MC count, I did 30 days of 100% raw between last month's and this month's cleanses. It felt pretty good, but I ate too many nuts.

Last month, as I searched about this forum for recipes and read snippets of this and other threads, I really regretted having missed the raw food challenge party you guys had last year. You guys are so warm and and supportive of one another . I live in a fairly big city, but haven't yet found much support here for staying raw (and know I can't do it without support). So I'm sooo happy to be here and am looking forward to sharing experiences.

I still want to read this whole thread (and the recipe box thread) from start to finish to get caught up...that'll be fun . I've already discovered a really good cracker recipe (I like it better than the onion bread because it's crisp, light, and crumbly) that I want to share.

I'm dedicated to doing 100% raw for as long as it's benefiting me because of what I've read in Victoria Boutenko's books, as well as the writings of some other raw foodists (like Jinjee Talifero). I've read a bit about the incredible sense of vitality and connection with life and finding another dimension of aliveness that can happen.

It's been interesting to me to see the reactions of some people (who used to be 100% raw) when I tell them what I'm doing. They express very negative feelings about it, like "I couldn't eat another salad for years!" (I bet that person didn't learn how to uncook!), and seem to want to convince me that I can't continue with it long-term, because they couldn't. It hasn't affected my excitement, but it certaimly hasn't been the support I've needed! It does sound really hard to stay 100% raw for more than several years, from what I've read. People hit a wall. But I want to have my own experience of it, whatever that turns out to be.

[Meedis]

Hahaha...ho boy.

Well, to make sure I wasn't on crack - I opened one of those little suckers and sure enough, 15.5 oz of pure heaven. I did read somewhere that although the water is good for you you shouldn't drink it often because it's loaded with sugar. Ya know - nothing is sacred anymore.

Love,
~Res

I know...it's wild how foods that are supposedly good for you can also be bad. I do believe, though, that moderation of any food is key. With that said, I think I'll attempt to find some coconut tonight. I talked to someone working in the store and they said not too confidently that they may have a batch on Thursday. I'm going a night earlier just to see.

[Res]

like "I couldn't eat another salad for years!" (I bet that person didn't learn how to uncook!),

Haha that was so cute.



Meedis: It's difficult to know who to believe and when I'm in doubt I try to go back to nature. But even in nature you have to be careful. For instance, you can eat Swiss Chard leaves, but Rhubarb leaves are poisonous but the stalk isn't. ??? Geez - you know what I mean?

Anyway - we just try to do our best.

Love,
~Res

[Sim]

Ahhh, moderation: the scourge of my life!!! Why can't we all just live "in the superlative"??
Nah, I guess not.
It's proven that too much of anything can throw us out of whack...and that includes salads! No matter how good they are, occasionally ya just gotta have something warmer, crunchier, sweeter, saltier, smoother, creamier, spicier, snappier, soothinger (hah! gotcha!)...

Rain~ So good to see you here!!! I love your attitude...and to those who would tell you they "did raw" and then it was over, I'd say "How well did yo do it? How varied? How much fun did you have experimenting?" I like to think of all the years I've spent--and still do spend--exploring and cooking foods for the SAD diet. I love to cook. My family loves those gourmet things. They do not want to adopt a raw lifestyle even though they love my raw dishes. Fine. I continue to satisfy my SAD creative moods by cooking for them, but I love my new explorations into raw, just for me. No one becomes adept at prepping new raw dishes without trial and error, just as no one knows how to cook SAD dishes without a learning curve. Remember when you first tried to make white rice? Ewwww.
Rain, you're in for a whole new--or almost new--experience. We're so glad you're here!

[rain]

Res and Sim: Thank you for the welcome!!!

...and to those who would tell you they "did raw" and then it was over, I'd say "How well did yo do it? How varied? How much fun did you have experimenting?"

That's a good comeback, Sim. I'll put that in my pocket for next time. I'm not very good at thinking on my feet when I'm surprised by what someone says to me.

Yes, uncooking is a whole new process. It's good to remind myself that my first trials are experiments, and not be hard on myself when they don't turn out. (The unknown part of it is exciting, too!)

I already have a huge pile of pear-fig crackers that have the texture of maybe cardboard (tough!) because I didn't realize the figs I decided to add would never get cracker-like. (After that, I made some more crackers with apples, cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg that are great with the figs ON TOP instead!) I've read that raw "failures" can be made into something else, but I don't know about those cardboard crackers! I'll see how they taste to me now, post-cleanse.

[Meedis]

My persistence paid off. I went back to the Japanese store a day earlier than what I was told and I found some coconuts. I grabbed about 6 of those suckers....there were only 9 on display. I could imagine someone going look at him grabbing all those coconuts. They were $1.59 each so the price was right. Needless to say someone's going to be making some chocolate coconut pudding tonight....yum!!!!

And with that comment...so ends my 100th post on here! I'm officially a Senior Member now.

[Res]

I'm officially a Senior Member now.

Guess what you're going to have? Senior moments...

Congrats on being a Senior! lol

Hey 1.59 for the coconuts is great! I was paying $1.99 at whole foods. As soon as I started coming back regularly for cases, they upped the price to $2.50 a piece. So I went somewhere else.

Pudding! Pudding!

Love,
~Res

[mini]

I am on my 11th day of my first MC. I am excited about starting a raw diet after the cleanse is over (hoping for a 20 day cleanse!). Just purchased a fabulous juicer (Jack Lalanne Elite). This machine can even make soy milk and almond.....yummi! I have purchased a mixed variety of fruits/vegetables and have been experimenting and feeding it to my family. Its funny how I use to crave ice cream and chocolate (lots of it!), now I'm craving a fresh carrot and orange juice or coconut milk. I love, love, love, coconuts; always did, so its great to read these postings on coconuts. Keep the coconut recipe (and all other recipes for that matter) coming. I will be needing them. Thank you for all your postings; reading these postings makes me feel like I can do this!

Here's to good health.

[Sim]

Pudding! Pudding!

I want pudding too....waaaaah. Just kidding about the waaaaah part. But I DO want pudding! I"m off to sleep, ending Day 26 of this fourth cleanse on a happy note. My oh my, I do like these long cleanses...almost as good as standing in a hot shower for FOREVER to get rid of the coldies!

And there's this growing pile of new recipes to try....
and the intended purchase of a new laptop so that I can keep up with you all when I'm studying at the Living Light Culinary Institute...
And Meedis, I'm jealous of your $1.99 purchases! And Mini...you're among buddies here! Can't wait to hear your reactions when YOU get to have some of that great stuff from your juicer. Day 11 already! GOOD FOR YOU!